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THE proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act provide the basis for correcting the legal limits of free speech, ­promoting pluralism, opposing reprehensible racism and highlighting the importance of ­responsibility. Arguably the most important change is assessing an 18C violation based on “the standard of an ordinary reasonable member of the Australian community”. Inter­pretations…

As Human Rights Commissioner I want to promote a culture of rights and responsibilities so that every Australian understands their rights and confidently stands up for them against government encroachment. Because human rights are a political construct, there are numerous ways that they can be approached. Each perspective weights the relative integrity of rights when they come into conflict…

Events on Manus Island have graphically and tragically brought to the attention of the Australian public the inappropriateness of the current arrangements for the regional processing of asylum seekers. I have been troubled by the loss of life and the injury that has occurred on Manus Island over this past week, even as we wait for further information about what exactly has occurred. I am…

Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the nation’s Constitution is a waste of time, 2UE Drive host Justin Smith recently argued. There are many things the Constitution doesn’t recognise, he said, the document is dull, and we would be better off if we paid attention instead to the words we use every day. I agree with Mr Smith on one point: the Constitution isn’t a page…

Responsibility, anti-discrimination laws, human rights and freedoms - these words have been at the center of an ideological debate about how to protect fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom from detention without trial. But if we are serious about securing these fundamental freedoms in Australian law, we must legislate to protect them, just as…

Australia, Human Rights, Refugees and Asylum Seekers: A comment on the current human rights issues faced by Australia in the processing of refugees and asylum seekers By Gillian Triggs, published in Issue 3 2013, Volume 2 of the International Advocate It is clear that Australia is currently facing challenges with respect to asylum seekers and refugees, particularly those who arrive by boat…

The proposed anti-discrimination law has critics, but it delivers a balanced package. If the release of the exposure draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 was intended to stimulate public discussion about an important reform initiative, it has clearly done what it set out to do.

Freedom of speech is alive and well in Australia but, with respect to Voltaire, we will not defend to the death those who abuse this right by vilifying others in public on the ground of race.